Owners of Roots restaurant in Houston are apologizing after a sign in front of the establishment made light of domestic violence as a way to promote beer.

Customers of the upscale eatery were stunned when the drove by their normally friendly spot and saw the marquee, which read: "Beer should be like violence: domestic." A customer pointed out that the sign could be offensive, but before Roots Bistro could respond, an image had already gone viral. According to the Houston Press, the sign immediately received backlash on both Facebook and Twitter. Many locals were offended, including Elizabeth Hilts, who posted this comment on the restaurant's Facebook page: "Shame on you for that sign. Shame, shame, shame."

The owners claim the sign was only up for 10 minutes, but that's all it took to create a firestorm on social media. When the Houston Press contacted the restaurant, a manager on duty named Kenneth said, "Obviously no one here would condone any type of violence, domestic or otherwise." The paper also reported that the restaurant "actively supports local non-profits like the Santa Maria Hostel, which provides chemical dependency treatment programs for low-income women."

Posted by Kiri Tannenbaum

Kiri Tannenbaum is a contributing editor at Delish. Her love of food was sparked by an extended stay in Florence, Italy, where she assisted in the kitchen, shaving bittersweet chocolate over creamy, homemade tiramisu. Though she has no Italian blood in her lineage, Kiri always makes her sauce from scratch and hopes one day to adopt an Italian grandmother. Read More

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